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With online sourcing options supplementing the in-person fair, buyers from around the world are gearing up to source from a wide range of domestic and international exhibitors for toy, baby and licensing products at this week’s Toy & Edu China, Baby & Stroller China and Licensing China. The three concurrent fairs will open their doors from 18 – 20 August 2022 at the … [Read more...] about Toy & Edu China, Baby & Stroller China and Licensing China open this week showcasing products from over 1,000 exhibitors [Ad]

Inc. magazine has come out with its 2022 Inc. 5000 list of American companies that experienced, in their words, “spectacular growth.” I went through the list in search of toy companies. I found six. Congratulations to them for a phenomenal year in a time of immense change and challenge. I have listed their ranking and their percentage of growth according to Inc. 263 – … [Read more...] about The Inc. 5000 – Which Toy Companies Made the List

How do you measure success? Answering this ambitious question is the object of Careers, a classic “roll-and-move” board game first released in 1955 by Parker Brothers. The ability for players to specify their own winning conditions is one of the unique and innovative aspects of Careers, resulting in play experiences and strategies that vary from game to game. At the start of … [Read more...] about Climbing the Corporate Ladder: Careers from Parker Brothers

Each week, .we are pleased to share British toy industry commentator, John Baulch’s “Friday Blog.” John Baulch, the Publisher of Toy World, is an outstanding source of knowledge and wit about the British toy industry. John has worked in the toy industry on several trade magazines over the past 40 years, culminating in the launch of his own publication – Toy World – 11 years … [Read more...] about Innocent until proven guilty …it’s the Friday Blog!

Over the last two years, commentators have expressed much angst about the supply chain’s tenuousness and the potential demise of global trade. It is easy to say why. We have all had to deal with a snarled supply chain, Covid shutdowns, traveler quarantines, a war in Europe, a collapse in Russian trade, a ship blocking the Suez Canal, containers falling overboard, inflation, … [Read more...] about Global Trade and the Supply Chain Prove Their Strength

Children play on the sidewalk on the Lower East Side of New York City; Library of Congress.“Where there are kids, there is play.” Iona Opie “The setting of boundaries is always a political act.” Edward J. Blakely and Mary Gail Snyder “We begin with the child when he is three years old. As soon as he begins to think he gets a little flag put in his hand.”  Dr Robert LEY, … [Read more...] about The Battle over Street Play in New York City (1910-1930)

Bucking a streaming slowdown that has recently bedeviled Hollywood, Disney+ added 14.4 million subscribers in the most recent quarter, about 45 percent more than Wall Street had expected and lifting Disney’s portfolio of streaming services to 221 million subscribers worldwide, edging ahead of Netflix for the first time. “Disney Profit Jumps 50 Percent, and Streaming Subscribers … [Read more...] about Quotes with my Coffee #8: Disney Passes Netflix, Pokemon Kids are Now Parents, and Supply Chain Easing

I came upon a Hedgehog and a Lion Pull Toy, and I wanted to share them with you. Don’t you love that Hedgehog? It’s whimsical, charming, and has a timeless appeal despite dating back to 1150 B.C.E. They were discovered in Iran at the Susa Acropolis and are on view in the Louvre in Paris. … [Read more...] about Break Time: 3,000 Year-Old Hedgehog Pull Toy